Lace Up is the debut studio album by American rapper Machine Gun Kelly. It was released on October 9, 2012, by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records.[1] Puff Daddy, who served as the executive producer on the album, enlisted the guest appearances from Cassie, DMX, Planet VI and Avenged Sevenfold;[1] as well as the production that was provided by Alex da Kid, JP Did This 1 and J.R. Rotem, among others. The album was supported by four singles: "Wild Boy" featuring Waka Flocka Flame, "Invincible" featuring Ester Dean, and "Hold On (Shut Up)" featuring Young Jeezy, along with a promotional single, "Stereo" featuring Alex Fitts.
| Lace Up | ||||
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Standard cover art for the album, deluxe version features the same cover with a red background
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| Studio albumby | ||||
| Released | October 9, 2012 (2012-10-09) | |||
| Recorded | 2010–2012 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 63:59 | |||
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| Producer |
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| Machine Gun Kelly chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Lace Up | ||||
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Reviews for the record were generally positive, but critics felt that it was a disappointment, compared to his previous mixtapes. Lace Up debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 57,000 copies in the United States. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over 500,000 copies.
The album's lead single, "Wild Boy" was released on September 27, 2011. The song features guest vocals from fellow American rapper Waka Flocka Flame, with production being provided by GB Hitz and Southside. It was initially featured on his fourth mixtape, Rage Pack (2011), and on his debut EP, Half Naked & Almost Famous (2012). The song debuted at number 98 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week of January 28, 2012, and number 49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It serves as his first song to be charted on both Billboard charts.[2][3]
The album's second single, "Invincible" was released to digital retailers in the United States on April 24, 2012,[4] and was solicited to rhythmic contemporary radio and contemporary hit radio on May 15 to July 31, 2012, respectively.[5] The song features guest vocals from American singer-songwriter Ester Dean, and was produced by British producer Alex da Kid. MGK shot a music video for the single, which features an appearance from the singer Ester Dean, and uploaded the video on YouTube under his VEVO account, on June 3, 2012.[6]
"Hold On (Shut Up)" featuring Young Jeezy, was released as the album's third single on August 6, 2012.[7] The music video was released on November 19, 2012.[8]
On September 20, 2012, "Stereo" was released with an accompanying music video, as the album's promotional single (although this track was formerly part of the mixtape with same title as the album). The song features guest vocals from Alex Fitts. The track would also be included, alongside "Invincible" and "Hold On (Shut Up)", as part of the MGK's Music Unlimited exclusive EP, titled Lace Up - The Prelude (released on October 2, 2012).[9]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 69/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| DJBooth |  [12] |
| HipHopDX | [13] |
| Rolling Stone | [14] |
| Spin | 5/10[15] |
| XXL | 4/5 (XL)[16] |
Lace Up received favorable reviews but music critics found the record overall uneven, compared to Kelly's previous mixtapes. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received average score of 69, based on 6 reviews which indicates generally favourable reviews.[10] Adam Fleischer of XXL praised the production throughout the album and MGK for being consistent with his rapid-fire flow concluding with, "though he may no longer be quite the underdog he once was, rapping like it—at least for now—still works."[16] Fred Thomas of AllMusic also praised the album for its production and putting MGK in the spotlight, calling it "a beast of a debut, and some of the heaviest mainstream-friendly hip-hop happening in 2012, a picture of young energy at its zenith."[11]
Edwin Ortiz of HipHopDX gave a mixed review of the album, praising tracks like "Edge of Destruction" and "D3mons" for their intensity but found "Invincible" and "All We Have" put MGK into "industry purgatory." He concluded with, "Lace Up is an imbalanced project that fails to establish MGK’s grand message. His debut is decent at best, with hope that his following projects yield better results."[13] Phillip Mlynar of Spin felt that the special guests throughout the album were more of a hindrance to the main artist saying, "Instead of turning this debut proper into an expansive listen, the guests seem like they're papering over holes in both the music and the message."[15]
The album debuted at number 4 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 57,000 copies.[17] It slid down to number 22 in its second week giving it a total of 65,000 copies.[18] Sliding down to number 37 in week three it sold 10,000 more copies.[19] As of September 2015, the album has sold 263,000 copies in the United States.[20]
Album credits adapted from official liner notes.[21]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Save Me" (featuring M. Shadows and Synyster Gates) |
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| 3:12 |
| 2. | "What I Do" (featuring Bun B and Dub-O) |
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| 4:32 |
| 3. | "Wild Boy" (featuring Waka Flocka Flame) |
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| 3:51 |
| 4. | "Lace Up" (featuring Lil Jon) |
| Drumma Boy | 3:02 |
| 5. | "Stereo" (featuring Alex Fitts) |
| Alex Kickdrum | 3:55 |
| 6. | "All We Have" (featuring Anna Yvette) |
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| 3:27 |
| 7. | "See My Tears" |
| J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League | 4:10 |
| 8. | "D3MONS" (featuring DMX) |
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| 4:21 |
| 9. | "Edge of Destruction" (featuring Tech N9ne and Twista) |
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| 5:08 |
| 10. | "Runnin" (featuring Planet VI) |
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| 2:47 |
| 11. | "Invincible" (featuring Ester Dean) |
| Alex da Kid | 3:07 |
| 12. | "On My Way" |
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| 4:10 |
| 13. | "End of the Road" (featuring blackbear) |
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| 4:04 |
| Total length: | 49:41 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Half Naked & Almost Famous" |
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| 2:51 |
| 15. | "La La La (The Floating Song)" |
| Chase N. Cashe | 3:54 |
| 16. | "Hold On (Shut Up)" (featuring Young Jeezy) |
| JP Did This 1 | 3:30 |
| 17. | "Warning Shot" (featuring Cassie) |
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| 3:21 |
| Total length: | 63:16 | |||
Credits for Lace Up adapted from AllMusic.[22]
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Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[27] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
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‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany[28] | October 5, 2012 | CD, digital download | Bad Boy, Interscope |
| Canada[29] | October 9, 2012 | ||
| United States[30] |